Balancing Between ‘De Facto’ and ‘De Jure’ in Standard-setting Strategy by a Latecomer Country: The Case of ICT Industry in China

The main objective of this study is to gain insights into the complexities of the standard-setting process involving a latecomer country. Standards are identified into two categories: market (de facto) standards arising from market interactions and formal standards (de jure) arising from mandatory specifications by public authorities. The study focused on two research questions: (i) What are the different factors that influence the outcome (success or failure) of a proposed standard by a latecomer country? (ii) How does a latecomer country navigate between de facto standard and de jure standard? It analysed two cases (WAPI - a failure and TD-SCDMA - a success) to examine the extent of government support for a standard setting that needs to balance between the de facto standard and de jure standard. The study found that standard competition is a complicated interplay between technology, markets, politics and institutions. The experience of two cases suggest that a proposed standard should judiciously combine partly a ‘de jure standard’ which aims to protect national interests and achieve a national goal, and partly the ‘de facto standard’ to meet the technology trend, market demand, as well as the end users’ welfare. Keywords: Standardization, Latecomer country, Latecomer catch-up, De Facto standards, De June standards, ICT Industr

Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture Rehabilitation for Post-stroke Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective: The most important and common psychiatric disorders after stroke include post-stroke depression, which can lead to a variety of negative health outcomes. This study was calculated to estimate the security and effectiveness of acupuncture rehabilitation in curative effects for post-stroke depression patients. Methods: As of July 2022, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched through electronic databases. Eligibility criteria RCTs evaluate RCTs of acupuncture rehabilitation on treatment events in depressed patients after stroke, compared to a control group. Results: Eight studies were included (n = 16,422). When combined with antidepressant/sham acupuncture efficacy, acupuncture intervention observably reduced HAMD scores (MD= -0.55,95% CI= -1.57 to -0.48, P=0.30, I²= 0%). Meanwhile, acupuncture rehabilitation also reduced BI scores (MD= 1.87,95%CI= -3.77-7.51, P=0.51, I²= 0%) and CGI-S score (MD=0.43,95% CI = 0.06-0.77, P =0.01, I² = 0%) compared with antidepressants / sham acupuncture. Second, the occurrence rate of combined negative events was dramatically lesser in the acupuncture groups, as indicated by the SERS scores (MD= -4.85,95% CI= 5.67 to -4.04, P <0.00001, I² = 0%) of the acupuncture groups and the antidepressant/sham acupuncture groups. Furthermore, the overall clinical outcome was observably better in the acupuncture groups (MD=1.58,95% CI =0.813.09, P =0.18, I² = 0%). Conclusion: Acupuncture rehabilitation intervention for post-stroke depression is safer and more effective than antidepressant/sham acupuncture

Spatiotemporal dynamic of subtropical forest carbon storage and its resistance and resilience to drought in China

Subtropical forests are rich in vegetation and have high photosynthetic capacity. China is an important area for the distribution of subtropical forests, evergreen broadleaf forests (EBFs) and evergreen needleleaf forests (ENFs) are two typical vegetation types in subtropical China. Forest carbon storage is an important indicator for measuring the basic characteristics of forest ecosystems and is of great significance for maintaining the global carbon balance. Drought can affect forest activity and may even lead to forest death and the stability characteristics of different forest ecosystems varied after drought events. Therefore, this study used meteorological data to simulate the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and the Biome-BGC model to simulate two types of forest carbon storage to quantify the resistance and resilience of EBF and ENF to drought in the subtropical region of China. The results show that: 1) from 1952 to 2019, the interannual drought in subtropical China showed an increasing trend, with five extreme droughts recorded, of which 2011 was the most severe one; 2) the simulated average carbon storage of the EBF and ENF during 1985-2019 were 130.58 t·hm-2 and 78.49 t·hm-2, respectively. The regions with higher carbon storage of EBF were mainly concentrated in central and southeastern subtropics, where those of ENF mainly distributed in the western subtropic; 3) The median of resistance of EBF was three times higher than that of ENF, indicating the EBF have stronger resistance to extreme drought than ENF. Moreover, the resilience of two typical forest to 2011 extreme drought and the continuous drought events during 2009 - 2011 were similar. The results provided a scientific basis for the response of subtropical forests to drought, and indicating that improve stand quality or expand the plantation of EBF may enhance the resistance to drought in subtropical China, which provided certain reference for forest protection and management under the increasing frequency of drought events in the future

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture Rehabilitation for Post-stroke Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective: The most important and common psychiatric disorders after stroke include post-stroke depression, which can lead to a variety of negative health outcomes. This study was calculated to estimate the security and effectiveness of acupuncture rehabilitation in curative effects for post-stroke depression patients. Methods: As of July 2022, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched through electronic databases. Eligibility criteria RCTs evaluate RCTs of acupuncture rehabilitation on treatment events in depressed patients after stroke, compared to a control group. Results: Eight studies were included (n = 16,422). When combined with antidepressant/sham acupuncture efficacy, acupuncture intervention observably reduced HAMD scores (MD= -0.55,95% CI= -1.57 to -0.48, P=0.30, I²= 0%). Meanwhile, acupuncture rehabilitation also reduced BI scores (MD= 1.87,95%CI= -3.77-7.51, P=0.51, I²= 0%) and CGI-S score (MD=0.43,95% CI = 0.06-0.77, P =0.01, I² = 0%) compared with antidepressants / sham acupuncture. Second, the occurrence rate of combined negative events was dramatically lesser in the acupuncture groups, as indicated by the SERS scores (MD= -4.85,95% CI= 5.67 to -4.04, P <0.00001, I² = 0%) of the acupuncture groups and the antidepressant/sham acupuncture groups. Furthermore, the overall clinical outcome was observably better in the acupuncture groups (MD=1.58,95% CI =0.813.09, P =0.18, I² = 0%). Conclusion: Acupuncture rehabilitation intervention for post-stroke depression is safer and more effective than antidepressant/sham acupuncture

Antibacterial Effects of Bacteriocin PLNC8 against Helicobacter pylori and Its Potential Mechanism of Action

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacterium that can cause a variety of gastric diseases. Most bacteriocins have gained popularity due to their non-toxic effects on cells and antibacterial effects against a wide range of pathogenic bacteria. In this study, the chemical synthesis of the bipeptide bacteriocin PLNC8 was used to investigate its possible action mechanism against H. pylori ZJC03 in vitro. Results showed that PLNC8 had significant anti-H. pylori ZJC03 potential, which resulted in a significant reduction in urease activity and a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 80 &mu;M. PLNC8 inhibited the growth of H. pylori ZJC03, disrupting its structure as observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In addition, PLNC8 decreased the ATP level and hydrogen peroxide sensitivity of H. pylori ZJC03. In conclusion, PLNC8 disrupts the ability of H. pylori ZJC03 to alter the host environment, providing a new avenue for the prevention and control of H. pylori infection, providing a theoretical foundation for further elucidation of its regulatory mechanism

Are the planning targets of liquid biofuel development achievable in China under climate change?

Liquid biofuels from non-grain energy crops on marginal land could become an important substitute of gasoline in the transport sector, and offer the possibility to reduce competition with food crops for land resources. However, the cultivation of energy crops is facing profound challenges due to changing temperature and precipitation in the future. To assess the impact of climate change on the potential of liquid biofuels on marginal land in China, this study used a geographic information system-based approach combined with multiple factor analysis to identify the spatial distribution of marginal land suitable for nine major energy crops in China. Climate scenarios were generated based on bias-corrected results of five different climate models under two representative concentration pathways (RCP2.6 and 8.5). Results show that climate change is projected to have a substantial impact on the land availability for biofuel production in the 2050s under both RCPs. The total amount of marginal land suitable for energy crops was 170.2 million hectares for the period of 2010–2019, and would increase in the 2050s under both RCPs. The changing pattern of area are similar under both RCP 2.6 and 8.5, only the magnitude is different. All the species are projected to have a northward spread in China. The amount of marginal land suitable for all the energy crops is projected to increase in the 2050s, except for Miscanthus floridulus, and Miscanthus lutarioriparius under RCP 8.5. However, the potential productivity of the energy crops is projected to have a substantial decrease in the 2050s. The average yields of the energy crops are only about one fourth of their yields in the 2010s due to climate change. Combined with high costs of producing biofuels and numerous ecological tradeoffs, it is likely that liquid biofuels development using 1.5 and 2-generation energy crops does not have an optimistic perspective in China

Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of RNA/DNA Differences Associated with Drought Response in Wheat

RNA/DNA difference (RDD) is a post-transcriptional RNA modification to enrich genetic information, widely involved in regulating diverse biological processes in eukaryotes. RDDs in the wheat nuclear genome, especially those associated with drought response or tolerance, were not well studied up to now. In this study, we investigated the RDDs related to drought response based on the RNA-seq data of drought-stressed and control samples in wheat. In total, 21,782 unique RDDs were identified, of which 265 were found to be drought-induced, representing the first drought-responsive RDD landscape in the wheat nuclear genome. The drought-responsive RDDs were located in 69 genes, of which 35 were differentially expressed under drought stress. Furthermore, the effects of RNA/DNA differences were investigated, showing that they could result in changes of RNA secondary structure, miRNA-target binding as well as protein conserved domains in the RDD-containing genes. In particular, the A to C mutation in TraesCS2A02G053100 (orthology to OsRLCK) led to the loss of tae-miR9657b-5p targeting, indicating that RNA/DNA difference might mediate miRNA to regulate the drought-response process. This study reported the first drought-responsive RDDs in the wheat nuclear genome. It sheds light on the roles of RDD in drought tolerance, and may also contribute to wheat genetic improvement based on epi-transcriptome methods

Well-Defined Selenium-Containing Aliphatic Polycarbonates via Lipase-Catalyzed Ring-Opening Polymerization of Selenic Macrocyclic Carbonate Monomer

The synthesis of well-defined, biodegradable selenium-containing polymers remains a formidable challenge in polymer chemistry. Herein, a selenic cyclic carbonate dimer monomer (M_Se) was developed to generate well-defined, biodegradable aliphatic polycarbonates with selenide functionality on the backbone. The monomer was synthesized via the intermolecular cyclization of di­(1-hydroxyethylene) selenide and diphenyl carbonate with lipase CA as catalysts in a mass of anhydrous toluene with very dilute monomer concentration. Then living ring-opening polymerization (ROP) was executed by solution method using the same lipase CA as catalysts. Similarly, the copolymerizations with commercial trimethylene carbonate (TMC) generated random copolymers demonstrated by ¹³C NMR, regulating the density of selenium functional groups. The resulting polymers exhibited a living polymerization characteristic, as evidenced by polymerization kinetics, predictable molecular weights, narrow molecular-weight distribution, and controlled copolymer compositions. Using hydrophilic macroinitiators (PEG), amphiphilic di/triblock copolymers could be obtained, suggesting their potential as controlled drug delivery system (DDS) and hydrogel scaffolds for tissue engineering